Applied Clay Science 52 (2011) 1119

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Applied Clay Science

j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s ev i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / c l a y

Research Paper

A geotechnical study on the landslides in the Trabzon Province, NE, Turkey

Ali Yalcin
Dept. of Geological Engineering, Aksaray University, 68100, Aksaray, Turkey

a r t i c l e

i n f o

a b s t r a c t
In the Trabzon province at the Eastern Black Sea region in Turkey, there are small and large landslides, especially following heavy rainfall periods in every year. These landslides regularly result in the loss of lives and properties. In this study, an assessment on the geotechnical characteristics of the areas where the landslides occur and the immediate vicinity were compared with the characteristics of non-landslides areas. A total of 50 landslides occurring in different locations were studied. As a result of the geotechnical investigations, the average of liquid limit values were between 49% and 69%, and the average plasticity index of the units ranged from 9% to 19% in the overlying materials in the landslide areas. Heavy rainfall exceeding boundary saturation of soils plays a critical role in causing landslides. According to the Unied Soil Classication System, the soils were silts of high plasticity and silts, silty or clayey ne sands of low plasticity. 80% of the total landslides occurred within very high and completely weathered units of basalt, andesite, or pyroclastics, and intercalations of sandstone, clayey limestone and siltstone. This study shows that the shear strength parameters decreased with increasing moisture content and that the number of landslides increased in relation to the particle size distribution of the clay. 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Article history: Received 1 July 2010 Received in revised form 12 January 2011 Accepted 12 January 2011 Available online 21 January 2011 Keywords: Landslide Lithology Slope Vegetation Geotechnical properties

1. Introduction Landslides are major natural hazards in many areas of the world. As in most countries, the economic losses and casualties due to landslides in Turkey are greater than generally recognized, and they cause a yearly loss of property larger than from any other natural disaster. In recent years, some devastating landslides in Turkey were reported (Gokceoglu et al., 2005; Ocakoglu et al., 2002). Generally, landslides are caused by intense rainfall, seismicity, water level change, storm waves or rapid stream erosion. These effects increase the shear stress or a decrease in the shear strength of materials in the slope. Other causes that make an area vulnerable to landslides are residential and commercial development expanding into unstable slope areas under the pressures of population growth and urbanization and human activities such as deforestation or excavation of slopes for road cuts and building sites. They became signicant causes of landslides. In the area, heavy rainfalls generate a rapid increase in pore pressure in the unsaturated zone and groundwater ow in the saturated area which can give rise to landslides. The properties of the lithological units are of crucial importance in terms of the propensity for landslides to occur. The weathered units act as a soil from a mechanical perspective, thus determining the geotechnical properties of the unit is very important. In a previous study of the Black Sea region, the depth of the completely weathered

zones in rocks were determined at the end of the geophysical studies performed via land observation and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) surveys. Calculation was carried out at 9 different points using the RAMAC/GPR ground radar system and evaluating the obtained proles. The main scarp of the landslide and road cutting indicated that the weathering depths varied between 15 and 20 m. These measurements supported the values obtained by GPR surveys (Yalcin and Bulut, 2007). Water content, consistency limits, grain size distributions, the type and characteristics of ne grained lithological units must be determined in relation to landslide behavior. The detailed investigations of the geotechnical properties of the units are a major aspect of the prediction of landslides. The characterization of landslides could provide very useful clues in terms of the nature of the slope failure and subsequent debris movement, thus indicating where landslides could potentially occur. This study can also provide the information to locate safe construction areas in regions that are prone to landslides thus safeguarding lives and property. In this study, fty landslides were investigated in the Trabzon province. 2. The study area The study area extended from longitude 3915E to 4015E and from latitude 4030N to 418N in the middle of the East Black Sea region (Fig. 1). The climate is characteristically Black Sea, with temperate climate summers and a rainy season generally lasting from September to April. The rainfall regime is irregular, with some periods when precipitation is rare and at other times there are long-lasting heavy rains. Very intense precipitation episodes also occur, causing

Tel.: + 90 382 2882328. E-mail address: ayalcin@aksaray.edu.tr. 0169-1317/$ see front matter 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.clay.2011.01.015

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Fig. 1. Location map of the study area.

disastrous ash oods in river basins and many landslides on the slopes (Yalcin, 2007a). The main commercial agricultural products are hazelnuts and green tea, apart from the agricultural area the other main land cover types are forest and pasture areas. In respect of the geological conditions, the study area mainly comprises alkaline volcanic units outcropping parallel to the Black Sea coast. The overlying units widely affected by weathering in the study area. Heavy rainfall and dense vegetation have increased the speed of weathering which then considerably reduced the resistance of the overlying units to the risk of landslides. 3. Methodology In this study, an extensive geotechnical study was carried out on 50 different areas where landslides occurred. Lithology, slope, aspect,

land cover, stream, and roads were examined by comparing each of these parameter maps with a landslide inventory map (Fig. 2). However, the geotechnical properties related to the overlaying lithological units are the most decisive for landslides. Thus, the geotechnical properties of the areas of landslides were compared with non-landslides areas. 3.1. Morphology The topography in the study area rises abruptly from coast. The variations in the slope of hills, mountains, and the rivers extend from north to south direction give this region a rough morphology. The slope angle is directly related to the occurrence of landslide. It is frequently used as the key measure in landslide studies. The slope map of the study area was divided into ve slope categories (Fig. 3). ArcGIS 9.2 analysis was performed to discover in which slope group

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Fig. 2. Landslide inventory map.

Fig. 3. Slope map.

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landslides happened, and the rate of occurrence was recorded. The frequency of landslides was found by determining the relationship between the slope and the landslide (Table 1). This table indicates that most of the landslides occurred at a slope angle N50%. The landslide rate in the moderate slope (030%) has about 20%. This is a higher for the tea areas because tea plant is very common the surface and rain water inltrate the soil. For this reason, the landslides occur in the areas with moderate slope (Fig. 4). 3.2. Climate The climate in the Black Sea region is dominantly a typical temperate climate with little snow during the winter months. There is very rainy season from September to April. From data accumulated over a period of 22 years, the coldest month in Trabzon Province is is February with an average temperature of 6.7 C, the hottest month is August with an average temperature of 23.2 C. The total precipitation in Trabzon city is 838 mm, and precipitation dispersal pattern is symmetrical (Fig. 5). As a general rule, the effect of rainfall inltration on slope can change the suction of the soil and the positive pore pressure, or main water table, as well as raising the soil unit weight and reducing the anti-shear strength of rock and soil (Ardizzone et al., 2007). Rainfall is one of the most signicant factors causing for landslides. In particular, transient pore pressure in response to short intense rainfall plays an important role in the occurrence of shallow landslides which are the main type in the study area (Fig. 4). In this province, it rains all the year, thus maintaining the geological material close to saturation. Therefore, short heavy rainfalls further increase the pore water which consequently can give rise to landslides. 3.3. Land cover Land cover acts as a protection and reduces the susceptibility of soil erosion and landslides. Several researchers (Bathurst et al., 2010; Begueria, 2006; Gokceoglu and Aksoy, 1996; Jakob, 2000; Tangestani, 2004; Yalcin, 2008) have revealed a clear relationship between vegetation cover and slope stability, especially for shallow landslides as in the Trabzon province. Geotechnical parameters, such as cohesion, internal friction angle, weight of the soil and pore-water pressure, are inuenced by the vegetation. Vegetation can both
Table 1 Distribution of landslides. Parameter Slope (%) Classes 010 1020 2030 3050 N50 Tea Hazelnut Deciduous (Forest) Rocky Pasture Agriculture Settlement Alv Pl Ev Kru Jkr Jlh 2 Kk % of total area (a) 13.7 6.9 11.1 26.8 41.5 1.1 15.4 45.5 1.1 18.6 17.1 1.2 3.9 2.4 36.6 54.7 0.1 0.7 1.6 0.1 % of landslide area (b) 2.4 5.7 11.8 30.8 49.3 1.7 23.2 49.3 1.0 8.0 16.5 0.4 1.5 2.2 13.2 80.0 0.00 0.00 3.1 0.00

Fig. 4. A typical shallow failure in the study area.

enhance effective soil cohesion due to root matrix reinforcement and soil suction or negative water pressure through evapotranspiration and interception (Karsli et al., 2009). In general, vegetations tend to increase the inltration rate of soils. Some water usually evaporates from plant surfaces before it can fall to the soil surface. A plant cover and litter layer of dead vegetation protects the soil surface from compaction by heavy raindrops, and also slows the delivery of water to the soil surface. Plant stems help slow down water that ows over the soil surface. Plant roots help create openings in the soil, and also draw water from beneath the soil surface and transpire it through the leaves back to the atmosphere. Decayed plant matter keep ne soil particles (such as clay particles) from sticking together, thereby increasing the inltration capacity (Dingman, 1994). A landslide event is a sophisticated process that can be powerfully affected by the vegetation. As a result, changes in land cover resulting from human activities and climate interact with slope stability. In this study, a single date image from Landsat ETM+ (Path 173; Row: 32) on October 19, 2000 was used to generate land cover types (Reis and Yomralioglu, 2006). The number of landslides was relatively high on bare land, and low on forest canopy (Fig. 6). Such a relation revealed by many earlier studies of the Black Sea region (Akgun and Bulut, 2007; Karsli et al., 2009; Yalcin, 2007b, 2008). As results, nine different types of land cover described. The main ones corresponded to deciduous, pasture, and agriculture areas. To show the relationship between the land cover and landslides, the landslide inventory map was compared with the land cover maps (Table 1). Landslides were largely seen in deciduous and hazelnut areas. The deciduous areas include different tree types of tree growth such as brake, thicket and small wood. These types obstruct the surface ow of rain fall water. This increases the pore water pressure of the soil, and, as a consequence, the number of landslides has increased in these areas.

Land cover

Geologya

a AlvAlluvium, PlPliocene, continental units, EvEocene, volcanic facies, Kru Basalt, andesite, pyroclastics, and intercalations of sandstone clayey limestone and siltstone, JkrJurassicCretaceous units, JlhLias units, 2Kakar granites, Kk Carboniferous units.

Fig. 5. Monthly average precipitation vs. temperature graphic.

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Fig. 6. Land cover map.

Fig. 7. Lithology map.

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A. Yalcin / Applied Clay Science 52 (2011) 1119 Table 2 The distribution of number of samples in the lithological units. Geology Alv Pl Ev Kru Jkr Jlh 2 Kk Number of specimen 3 3 10 30 0 0 4 0

3.4. Lithology The nature and rate of geomorphological processes including landslides depend on the lithology and weathering characteristics of the underlying materials (Dai et al., 2001). Many authors agree that lithology has a signicant impact on the occurrence of landslides, because lithological variations often led to different the strength and permeability values of rocks and soils (Dai et al., 2001; GarcaRodrguez et al., 2008; Gnther and Thiel, 2009; Luzi and Pergalani, 1999; Wu and Qiao, 2009; Yalcin, 2007b). Eight lithological units distinguished in the Trabzon province (Fig. 7). As a result of the aerial distributions analysis performed according to the lithological units, the majority of the landslides (80%) were found to be located within basalt, andesite, pyroclastics, and intercalations of sandstone clayey limestone and siltstones (Table 1). The geological units in the landslides areas highly weathered. In the study area, the rock outcrops were formed by physical and chemical factors. The degree of weathering of rocks was determined following the method suggested by ISRM (1981). X-Ray Diffraction revealed illite and kaolinite as the main clay minerals in the weathered materials (Fig. 8).

3.6. Particle size distribution The inuence of particle size distribution on the occurrence and speed of landslides was signicant (Yalcin, 2007b). Sieve and hydrometer analyses were undertaken to designate the grain size of soil in the landslide area. The grain size distributions of the soil in the landslides areas and their neighborhood were determined by separating the particles using a conventional sieve, ne sieve, and hydrometer methods. The average of the grain size distributions belonging the completely weathered section of each lithological unit is presented in Table 3 whereas Fig. 9 shows the grain-sized distributions of the samples. 3.7. Index characteristics Fifty samples were analyzed to measure the saturated unit weight (s), natural unit weight (n), dry unit weight (d), specic gravity (Gs), liquid limit (LL), plastic limit (PL), plasticity index (PI), porosity (n), void ratio (e), and moisture content (). Soil containing ne particles showed the plasticity and cohesiveness so that a lump of soil can have its shape changed or remolded without the soil changing in volume or breaking up. This characteristic depends on the amount and mineralogical composition of the nes and the amount of water present, or the moisture content. As the moisture content increases, a clayey or silty soil will become softer and stickier until it cannot retain its shape. Then, it is considered to be in a liquid state. If the moisture content is further increased, there are less interactions between the soil particles and the slurry, and a dispersion is formed (Barnes, 2000). The results of the soil analysis are given in Table 4. The average values of the saturated unit weights were between 16.7 kN/m3 and 18.4 kN/m3. The average values of the dry unit weights ranged from a high of 13.9 kN/m3 to a low of 11.9 kN/m3. The average specic gravity of all soil particles was about 2627 kN/m3, depending on the nature of the mineral constituents. Specic gravity was inuenced by the presence of dolomite, feldspar, calcite, and quartz. Specic gravity

3.5. Geotechnical properties Fifty disturbedundisturbed samples from the landslide and stable areas were analyzed (grain size distribution, plastic index, shear strength) and the landslide were found in highly weathered parts of lithological unit. The samples for laboratory tests were collected from the landslide area according to the lithological units (Table 2). The geotechnical tests, in accordance with ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) standards (Bowles, 1992), were performed on disturbed and undisturbed samples collected from the slopes during dry and rainy seasons. The average values were separately calculated for each lithology in the laboratory tests.

Table 3 Grain size distribution of number of samples in the lithological units. Grain size Sand (%) Kru Ev 2 Pl Alv Kru Ev 2 Pl Alv Kru Ev 2 Pl Alv Max. value 59.4 64.5 39.8 35.7 34.8 61.4 48.3 67.3 66.5 65.8 30.7 5.3 5.0 7.5 5.9 Min. value 13.4 47.3 29.0 27.4 32.6 34.4 31.8 55.3 58.4 60.3 0.3 1.7 3.0 5.6 1.5 Arithmetic mean 35.9 58.4 34.1 30.4 33.7 50.0 38.0 62.1 63.3 63.3 14.2 3.6 3.8 6.3 3.0 Standard deviation 15.3 5.3 4.5 4.6 1.1 8.3 4.8 5.0 4.3 2.8 9.3 1.2 0.9 1.0 2.5

Silt (%)

Clay (%)

Fig. 8. XRD pattern of the clay in the weathered rocks.

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the specimens collected in the rainy season (Table 4). Thus, the soils had very low shear strength parameters. The shear strength was higher in the dry season samples. The average values of the effective cohesions varied from 118.17 kN/m2 to 149.07 kN/m2 and the average values of effective angle of frictions ranged 28 to 43 (Table 4).

Table 4 Geotechnical properties of the soil samples. Geotechnical properties Saturated unit weight s (kN/m3) s-Kru s-Ev s-2 s-Pl s-Alv 3 Dry unit weight d (kN/m ) d-Kru d-Ev d-2 d-Pl d-Alv Specic gravity Gs (kN/m3) Gs-Kru Gs-Ev Gs-2 Gs-Pl Gs-Alv Liquid limit LL (%) LL-Kru LL-Ev LL-2 LL-Pl LL-Alv Plastic limit PL (%) PL-Kru PL-Ev PL-2 PL-Pl PL-Alv Plasticity index PI (%) PI-Kru PI-Ev PI-2 PI-PI PI-Alv Porosity (n) n-Kru n-Ev n-2 n-Pl n-Alv Void ratio (e) e-Kru e-Ev e-2 e-Pl eAlv Moisture content (%) Kru Ev 2 Pl Alv Cohesion c (kN/m2) cKru cEv c2 cPl cAlv Internal friction angle () Kru Ev 2 Pl Alv 2 Cohesion c (kN/m ) cKru (for dry season) cEv c2 cPl cAlv Internal friction angle () Kru (for dry season) Ev 2 Pl Alv Max. value 19.0 17.8 18.5 17.3 16.9 14.4 13.5 14.0 13.0 12.1 28.0 27.6 27.5 27.4 27.3 63.2 68.5 62.0 74.0 54.0 51.5 46.5 49.5 56.7 43.7 27.5 22.4 20.4 22.7 10.3 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.6 1.6 1.4 0.1 1.3 1.3 57.0 52.0 57.9 66.8 51.2 31.4 33.3 26.5 42.2 22.6 25.7 18.3 26.4 12.5 14.3 142.2 151.0 133.4 154.0 124.6 40.4 32.2 44.5 30.1 31.2 Min. value 13.9 16.3 18.2 16.8 16.5 10.3 10.9 13.7 11.9 11. 7 26.1 26.2 26.4 26.9 26.3 36.0 39.0 44.5 63.0 47.5 29.5 32.4 35.3 46.3 40.6 3.6 6.6 7.1 16.5 7.0 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.8 1.0 0.9 1.1 1.2 23.5 38.4 39.7 56.3 43.4 8.8 13.7 20.6 31.4 11.8 12.9 9.2 24.6 9.9 11.2 85.3 110.8 120.6 144.2 111.8 27.4 23.2 41.2 27.6 28.5 Arithmetic Standard mean deviation 17.6 17.0 18.4 17.0 16.7 12.6 12.3 13.9 12.6 11.9 26.9 26.8 27.0 27.1 26.9 48.6 51.1 52.3 68.7 51.0 38.3 37.8 41.2 49.9 42.2 10.3 13.3 11.1 18.8 8.9 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.6 1.2 1.2 0.9 1.2 1.3 40.1 44.4 48.4 62.2 47.8 21.4 22.8 23.5 36.8 17.2 19.3 13.4 25.5 11.2 12.7 119.0 126.3 127.0 149.1 118.2 31.9 28.4 42.9 28.8 29.9 0.6 0.5 0.1 0.3 0.2 1.2 0.7 0.1 0.7 0.2 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.3 0.5 7.4 8.0 8.4 5.5 3.3 5.4 3.9 6.1 5.9 1. 6 5.6 5.8 6.3 3.4 1.7 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 1.1 0.0 0.1 0.1 9.4 4.6 8.2 5.3 4.0 8.2 8.3 4.2 7.6 7.6 3.9 4.0 1.3 1.8 2.2 16.9 17.7 9.0 6.9 9.0 3.7 4.0 2.3 1.8 1.9

Fig. 9. Particle size distribution.

may be used to determine other important properties such as void ratio, porosity, and degree of saturation. The samples tested were of intermediate and high plasticity, with the average of liquid limit values between 48.6% and 68.7%. The average plasticity index of units extended from 8.9% to 18.9%, whereas the averages plastic limit ranged from 37.8% to 49.9%. As a convenience for comparing different soils, Casagrande (1936) devised a plasticity chart (Fig. 10), in which an empirical boundary known as line A separates clays from silty. Soils of the same geological origin are usually found on the plasticity chart as straight lines parallel to line A. The larger the plasticity index the greater will be the volume change. Fat or plastic clays are found above the line. Silts and clays containing a large portion of rock our (nely ground non-clay minerals) are below line A four separate charts help to make clear the use plasticity charts (Endurazyme, 2010). Line C is the boundary of plasticity index for 20 values. The plasticity index values are N20 above the line C. Line D separates clays of high plasticity from clays of very high plasticity. According to the plasticity chart, 80% of samples are in the MH group (silts of high plasticity) soils, 20% of samples are ML group (silts, silty or clayey ne sands, with low plasticity) soils (Fig. 10). The average porosity varied from 0.5 to 0.6, the average void ratios ranged from a high of 1.3 to a low of 0.9, and the average moisture content changes from 40% to 62% (Table 4). 3.8. Shear strength In soils failure occurs as a result of exceeding the maximum shear stress that the soil can maintain. Therefore, the shear strength is the main factor for understanding the behavior of a soil mass. Soil with high shear strength will be able to support a slope without failing. The shear strength of soil depends on the water content. Most failures involve a shear-type failure of soil due to a soil composed of individual soil particle that slide when the soil is loaded. The shear strength parameters of a soil are cohesion (c) and angle of friction (). The higher values of cohesion (c) and the angle of friction () are higher than the shear strength of the soil (Barnes, 2000). In this study, the shear the strength parameters (c and ), were determined by the widely used triaxial tests suitable for all types of soil. The test consists of the application of shear stress within a cylindrical soil sample by changing the principal stresses 1 and 3. The most common procedure is to maintain a steady triaxial cell pressure 3 and increase the axial or vertical stress 1 until failure is achieved. To obtain the residual shear strength parameters drained triaxial tests were performed of 20 undisturbed samples collected from various depths of sample pits in the sliding mass (35 m). The average values of the effective cohesions ranged from 37 kN/m2 to 17 kN/m2, and the average values of effective angle of friction ranged from 11 to 26 for

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Fig. 10. Distributions of the samples on the plasticity chart (ML: Silts, silty or clayey ne sands, with slight plasticity, CL: Clays, silty clays, sandy clays of low plasticity, OL: Silts and silty clays of intermediate plasticity, MH: Silts of high plasticity, CH: Clays of high plasticity, OH: Clays of very high plasticity).

4. Results and conclusion There are a wide variety of factors that contribute to the occurrence of landslides. They are generally related to lithology, slope, aspect, elevation, vegetation cover, discontinuity, the location of rivers and roads. Although these factors vary from region to region, their effect is, to some degree, known and do not show a great variation with the exception of geology. One of the greatest aws in landslide studies applied in regional scale is that, the lithology parameter is determined with a very general approach. In other words, these studies classify the units according to names in geologic terms and relate these units to the occurrence of landslides. However, this is a rather rough approach as these variations in these units have different effects on landslides. The lithological units could not continue the primary properties of discontinuity, elastic, strength, and etc. For this reason, the units show different degrees of weathering. This is a source of different effect to landslides. Most natural soils are composite, a mixture of different particle sizes and the distribution of these particles gives very useful information about the engineering behavior of the soil. The grain size distribution plays an important role in the movement of a landslide mass and the pore-pressure increase after failure. Samples with ner grain sizes or larger ne-particle contents fail more easily, and high pore pressure is maintained during movement. Based on these test results, grain size and ne-particle contents can have a signicant impact on the mobility of rainfall-induced landslides. The experimental data and eld inspections show that landslides mostly occur in the clayey soils. Thus, an increase in clay content also increased the potential for a landslide. In the study, the geological units that reached an average clay content of 14% were found in approximately 80% of the landslides in this study. The clay content in the soil is very important in relation to the potential occurrence of landslides. Because of the increase in the amount of ne grain, drainage is reduced and thus, pore water pressure increases, and the stability of the masses is disturbed. Slope stability depends principally on the friction angle () and at very limited cohesion, sudden failure can occur. In such situations where the moisture content of the soil may be larger than the liquid limit, the movement is usually fast. To determine the saturation level, the moisture content of the slope was compared with the liquid limit values in the layers most prone to failure. The natural moisture content () was very close to the liquid limit value because the study area is humid and rainy. The average of liquid limit values was between 49% and 69%, while the moisture content changed from 40% to 62%. Therefore, landslides can occur after heavy rainfalls or at the end of the rainy season since the water content of the soil may be more than the liquid limit of the deposit. As a consequence of

inltration and the deep leakage of spring waters, the soils in the study area slowly became fully saturated with water and after a period of strong rain falls in the rainy season a landslide occurred. The high soil porosity and void ratios permit water to ow easily in the soil and favor the inltration process. The water inltration rate also decreases with the soil density. The higher the density, the denser the soil and less the pores or the water passage in the soil, thus the risk of a landslide decreases. The porosity of soils was found to reach 0.62 and the void ratio was 1.61 in the study area. These values presented the optimal conditions for a landslide in the Trabzon study area. The shear strength can be major factor landslides. A soil with high shear strength is stabilizes slopes without failing. An unstable slope can have short or long term side effects depending on the shear strength. The shear strength of materials varies with the water content. High-pore water pressures contribute to most of the slope failures and most landslides in the Trabzon province during rainstorms. The effective stress is reduced by increased water pressure, decreasing resistance to shear. The soils in the study area had very low shear strength values when saturated with water. The maximum values of the effective cohesion and angle of friction were 37 kN/m2 and 26 for the rainy season samples. In the dry season samples, the maximum effective cohesion and effective angle of friction values reached 149 kN/m2 and 43. In conclusion, a reduction in strength due to wet condition is mainly responsible for failure in the study area, particularly in the rainy seasons. Factors such as morphology, climate, and vegetation cover do not distinctly inuence the risk of landslides. Field studies of 50 landslides in highly weathered units and the laboratory analysis indicated that there is an approximate correlation between the geotechnical properties of the units and landslides. Therefore, current landslide susceptibility maps should be produced in such a way that they have information about the geotechnical parameters of the landslide prone areas. As a nal conclusion, landslides prone areas can be more correctly identied.

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